Folding memorandum carrier for use on a desk



Dec. 19, 1961 c. N. 02055 ET AL 3,013,359

FOLDING MEMORANDUM CARRIER FOR USE ON A DESK Filed Jan. 15, 1959 2Sheets-Sheet l Whoa N 03 0mm raised tent Patented Dec. 19, 19613,613,359 FGLDHNG MEM IERANDUM CARREER FOR USE 0N A DESK Carroll N.ilross, Maitiand, Fla, and Cyril D. Hayhow,

Taunton, Mass; said Hayhow assignor to Ad-A-Day Company, inc, Tauuton,Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Ian. 15, 195% S95. No.786,951 2 Claims. (Cl. 45-450) This invention relates to a folding desktop accessory providing an exposed memorandum pad or, desirably pad andcalendar combined in one unit, and in its preferred form one havingprovision for inscribing other memoranda such as a list of telephonenumbers on surfaces readily accessible, although not always in view. Thecompleted article is attractive as well as convenient and may beeconomically manufactured, stored and shipped. It is contemplated thatusually it will be distributed as a gift at Christmas time with theulterior purpose of advertising, and it will prove a gift which, becauseof its pleasing appearance and practical utility, will be preserved andbe a yearlong reminder of the donor. It might, however, be distributedto the members of an organization or as a souvenir of-some particularoccasion or be personalized by an inscription applying only to the user.

A cardinal object is to provide a superior article of this kind and inparticular one wherein the calendar or top sheet of the memorandum padis exposed at an angle easy to read and easy to write on, and normallyconcealed matter such as the telephone index will be easily accessibleand the surfaces on which the entries of numbers may be made will beconvenient for both inspection and inscription, in both the erected andcollapsed positions of the device.

The invention will be well understood by reference to the followingdescription of an exemplary embodiment thereof shown by way of examplein the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device in its erected form as itwould stand on the desk top of the owner, and shows a calendar pad ofthe memorandum type;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

FIG. 3 is a similar view, showing a portion folded outwardly to disclosetwo of the interior surfaces;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the device completely folded or collapsed;

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are plan views, respectively of three sub-unitsconstructed of board which are utilized in the construction of thedevice shown;

FIG. 8 is a View of these three units individually folded up andassembled in line;

FIG. 9 illustrates diagrammatically how the units, assembled as shown inFIG. 8, may be secured together by a covering of sheet material; and

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the parts as seen in FIG. 4, but with thememorandum pad omitted and being on a smaller scale. The scalecorresponds to PEG. 9.

The particular construction shown and whichwe are about to describe ismade up from boards and flexible sheet material. By boards is meantmaterial such as cardboard or binders board of considerable thicknessand rigidity, as contrasted with freely flexible, more or less limpmaterial such as cloth, ornamental papers, imitation leather, and so on,which will herein be referred to as sheet material.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated at least thesurfaces of the boards which are outwardly exposed, viewing FIG. 1, arecovered with sheet material which, besides providing an attractivefinish, is advantageous in that it may be utilized for connectingcertain of the parts hingewise, as will be described. Especially if theboards are finished on one or both surfaces the covering may bedispensed with, but generally the resulting structures would beconsidered of lower grade.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the device comprises three units, a firstunit A, herein termed a panel, and which in use may be compared to thetop of a slant top desk, a second unit B forming a supporting leg (seeFIG. 2) and a forwardly presented display surface exposed above the rearedge of the desk top (panel A), and a third unit C which is acooperating leg which, when the parts are erected as seen in FIGS. 2 and3, forms a dihedral angle with B. B and C then resemble the surfaces ofa gable roof, and it will be convenient to call the two a gabled supportand in particular a folding gabled support. In the example shown theyare hinged together along a line corresponding to the ridgepole of such.a roof. This language, however, does not imply that they necessarilyboth terminate at the ridgepole, although that is illustrated. Usuallytheir angle to the vertical will be equal and small. As will appear, thelength of the eaves or bottom edges which rest on the desk top or othersupporting surface need not be of the same length. A tie connection 4!),conveniently of a form hereinafter described, limits the spreadingmovemerit of the parts B and C, and it preferably issuch that merelypressing together two parts at points remote from the ridgepole whenthey are in the position of FIG. 2 will cause them to collapse togetherto the position shown in FIG. 4, and pressure at similar points willunfold them from the latter position.

Preferably the tie 40 is organized completely forward of the back faceof C, and rearwardly of the front face i of B, and it is of such formthat it is not necessary to manipulate the tie itself in erecting orcallapsing the support.

It will now be convenient to describe in detail each of the units asshown. The particularity of the description however does not imply thatthe particular construction shown and described need always be used.

Referring to FIG. 5 the panel A is herein shown as formed of three pliesof board which may be parts of a strip of boa-rd divided in three areasby slits 16 across the greater portion of the width, and perforations 18at the ends of the slits provide hinges so that the three sections maybe folded up zigzag in a three-ply structure as shown at the left ofFIG. 9. it is folded over and down 011 12 and 14 under and below 12.These hinges are not of functional significance in the completed articleand may even be broken when the device is completed. The three sectionsare herein of similar area except that a rectangul-ar area 29 is cut outfrom the free edge of the section 14 as seen at the right, for a purposewhich will appear. The faces of the sections 10 and 12 which appear inFIG. 5, and which oppose each other when folded over, preferably have,or later haveapplied to them, a finished sur-- face suitable forinscription for reasons which will appear.

Referring to FIG. 6, the forward leg unit B comprises a piece of boarddivided into a front board 22 and a rear board 24, forming the legproper, the two boards being defined by slits 26 and perforations 28corresponding to 16 and i8, and permitting the board 22; to be folded(away and down viewing FIG. 6) to underlie the upper portion of theboard 2 The rear board 24 is of greater altitude viewing FIG. 6, thanthe board 22, as it constitutes the leg pro-per and is of a dimensionnecessary to extend the full distance from ridgepole to caves in theReferring to FIG. 7, which is the cooperating leg C, this herein islikewise a two-ply structure comprising two parts 32 and 34 defined in astrip of board by a slit 36 and perforations 38 corresponding to thenumerals having the same last digit in FIGURES and 6. 34 is foldedupwardly and rearwardly viewing FIG. 7 to lie behind 32. When folded,the double structure forms the rear portion of the gabled support andthe half altitude of the strip as seen in FIG. 7 is such that it extendsfrom ridgepole to caves.

The connecting tie 40 which has previously been referred to and whichprevents the parts B and C from spreading furt ier than is seen in FIG.2, may be of a construction substantially identical with that disclosedin our Patent No. 2,916,236, dated December 8, 1959.

Referring to FIG. 6, the part 24 is provided with a weakened hinge line42, parallel to the upper edge of the part and cuts 44 extendingtherefrom form a tongue 4% which may be bent out of the plane of theboard 24 and is so bent in FIGS. 2 and 3. Spaced but alignedperforations or similar weakening lines 46 adjacent the end of thistongue are joined by a three-sided cut defining an area 43, the cutextending to the hinge line 42. The tongue 40 thus has pivoted at itsdistal end a crosshead which embodies a part (the extreme distal upperend of the tongue viewing FIG. 6) which extends at one side of the hingeline 44 and another 48 bounded by the three sided cut extending at theopposite side of that line.

Referring to FIG. 7, the board 32; is provided with a slot 50 of a widthto pass the tongue 40, and when the parts are assembled the board 24overlies the board 32 face to face and the tongue 34 is passed upthrough the slot and extends toward the upper edge thereof, shown inFIG. 2. The tongue is received between that forward face of the board 32and what in FIG. 7 is the rearward face of the board 34, which is foldedover on top of it. The boards 32 and 34 are fastened together so thatthis central area is unobstructed and forms an interstitial space inwhich the tongue is received and in which it can work in the erectingand collapsing motion of the parts. When the stand is opened the tongueis pulled downwardly and rearwardly in a direction to remove it from theslot. The two boards retain the hinged crosshead in the plane betweenthem. The part 48 slides past the lower margin of the slot 5t: and thedistal part remains behind the upper margin and the two legs, 24-0, ofthe support stop in the position of FIGS. 2 and 3.

In the present instance however slits 52. are provided at the upper sideof the slot 59 freeing that margin thereof, and also slits 54 at thelower margin spaced at a distance slightly greater than the width of thepart 48. These two portions of the margin of the slot thus are in thenature of stiff springs. They are not functional in the normal use ofthe device, but if undue opening pressure is applied the parts betweenthe slits 54- may yield and permit the part 43 to escape before thetongue is torn apart. If it has become separated in this way the slits52 permit the area between them to lift slightly, thus to facilitate theintroduction of the wider portion of the crosshead through the slot andto the further face of the board 32.

The three units thus described may be assembled in line as shown in FIG.8, with the portion 24a of part B extending into the recess 20 of theboard 14 in the manner shown in FIG. 9, the adjacent edges of the boardit) and the board 22. being suitably spaced and the opposite edges ofthe unit B and the edge of the unit C likewise being suitably spaced.

in FIG. 9 there is shown diagrammatically a covering 60 of sheetmaterial being drawn from the roll and being applied to the uppersurfaces (viewing FIG. 8) of this assembly. It is adhesively secured tothese faces and unites them in the relationship shown in FIG. 8. it isof such width that the edges of the material may be folded over andsecured along narrow zones at the opposite faces of the units bridgingthe open edges which are seen in FIG. 9, and uniting the superposedparts of each unit. The covering provides a hinge 62 between part A andpart B at the lower edge of board 22 and part way up the leg 24, so thatwhen the device is erected the panel A lies at a low angle to thehorizontal. It also provides a hinge 64 between units B and C along theline of the ridgepole. lit will be noted that the three sides which areuppermost in FIG. 8 will be those which are outwardly presented in FIG.1 and they display the attractive covering material.

Because of the low angle at which panel A is supported, viewing FIG. 2,it is easy to observe, being tilted up slightly into the line of visionof the one sitting at the desk on which it stands, and it is also easyto write upon as it would not be if it stood more nearly vertical. Atthe same time the leg 24:: of unit B makes a small angle with thevertical and the pressure of the writing instrument or the hand is takenup primarily by a direct thrust on this leg because of the constructionof the gabled support, with no tendency to collapse it and without unduestrain on the connection it In the preferred form of the invention theupwardly exposed portion of the panel A carrying the pad M is adapted tobe displaced to disclose further memoranda, and in the present instanceafter the parts have been united as described in connection with FIG. 9,the board 10 and the covering over its exposed face may be severed alonga line parallel to the hinge 64 extending to the same, releasing thisportion liia of the board for movement about a hinge 66 provided by thefolded over covering (see FIG. 3) from the position shown in FIG. 2 tothe position shown in FIG. 3. This cutting is performed in accordancewith the practices of the art, without harming the subjacent surfaces.If desired a small portion '70 may be cut out from one corner of thisarea 10a to permit insertion of the finger to lift the same. Theinterior surfaces of the boards 10 and 12 which are thus exposed maycarry memoranda or have memoranda added to them and conveniently theymay be ruled to permit the inscription of telephone numbers thereon.They are easily inspected by opening the movable board from the positionof FIG. 2 to the position of FIG. 3. In that position the slantingsurface of the panel can be easily written on because its low angleremains and the back of the unfolded portion lies flat on the desk andcan be easily inscribed. Moreover a mere pressure of the fingers on thetwo parts B and C collapses them to the position of FIG. 4 from theposition of FIG. 2, and if the movable portion were then unfolded, bothareas would lie fiat for inscription. It will be noted that the lowerportion 24a of the front leg closes into the opening 3% of board 14. 24and 14 lie in the same plane and 22 and 12 also lie in a common plane.The part C is flat and it extends across the part A throughout its widthand supports A evenly. A rests on its own forward edge and the neareredge of part C viewing FIG. 3 at a negligible angle. There is nojiggling or tilting when the parts are being written on. There are noprojecting portions beyond the rearward surface of the part C whichwould interfere. Merely by moving the finger up between the parts B andC from the lower end of the latter, the folding support is erected tothe position of FIG. 2, either before or after the part 10a is foldedback.

We are aware that the invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, andwe therefore desire the present embodiment to be considered in allrespects as illustrative and not restrictive, as is in fact clear inseveral matters from the description itself. Reference is to be had tothe appended claims to indicate those principles of the inventionexemplified by the particular embodiment described and which we desireto secure by Letters Patent.

We claim:

1. A folding gabled stand of the type comprising two hinged panelsadapted to be erected to stand with the aoraaso panels angularlydisposed in the manner or" a gable roof, one panel comprising a bracehinged thereto on an axis parallel to the hinge line of the panels,which brace comprises a body portion and a crosshead distally hingedthereto on a transversely extneding hinge axis and having portionsextending to both sides of the hinge line, the other panel comprising aninterior board having a slot of a length greater than the width of thehead and a width less than the depth of the haed and a board exteriorthereto defining therewith an open interfacial space to which the slotopens, into which space the end of the brace may enter and in which itmay slide when introduced through the slot, said portions of thecrosshead spanning the width of the slot and engaging behind theopposite margins of the slot on retrograde movement of the brace tendingto withdraw it from said space, characterized by the fact that themargin of the slot behind which the proximal portion of the crossheadengages is slitted at either side of the position of said portion toprovide a resilient latching element yieldable on undue strain torelease the head.

2. A folding gabled stand of the type comprising two hinged panelsadapted to be erected to stand with the panels angularly disposed in themanner of a gable roof, one panel comprising a brace hinged thereto onan axis parallel to the hinge line of the panels, which brace comprisesa body portion and a crosshead distally hinged thereto on a transverselyextending hinge axis and having portions extending to both sides of thehinge line, the other panel comprising an interior board having a slotof a length greater than the width of the head and a width less than thedepth of the head and a board exterior thereto defining therewith anopen interfacial space to which the slot opens, into which space the endof the brace may enter and in which it may slide when introduced throughthe slot, said portions of the crosshead spanning the width of the slotand engaging behind the opposite margins of the slot on retrogrademovement of the brace tending to withdraw it from said space,characterized by the fact that the margin of the slot behind which thedistal portion of the crosshead engages is slitted at either side of theposition of said portion to provide a resilient latching elementdisplaceable temporarily to enlarge the entrance to the space into whichthe crosshead is introduced to facilitate its entrance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS262,507 Thomas Aug. 8, 1882 825,053 Hoag July 3, 1906 1,292,720 DawsonJan. 28, 1919 1,694,551 Meller Dec. 11, 1928 2,638,397 Wykoif May 12,1953 2,902,785 Nichols Sept. 8, 1959

